San Francisco

I'd really been looking forward to today. We had a combo ticket to Alcatraz and Angel Island because Alcatraz-only tickets were sold out months ago.

We began the tour at Pier 33 and took about 40 minutes to get to Angel Island. It's a large island off the SF coast and is a California State Park. As part of our ticket cost, we got a 45 minute tour on a noddy train around th island telling us about the history of the island. It's been dubbed the "Ellis Island of the West" as it was used as an immigration centre. But whereas Ellis Island was a welcoming symbol of freedom and liberty, Angel Island was designed to keep people away - primarily the Chinese - after the 'Chinese Exclusion' programme was inacted by the government. Hundreds of Chinese immigrants were held on this island and the tour details the angry and desperate poetry carved into the walls.

Eventually it was used as a military area before finally being turned over to California to be used as a state park. It's an absolutely stunning place to visit for some time away from the city. We had a quick lunch here before boarding the boat to Alcatraz.

There's a couple of things the Americans do really really well - one of them are tours. Audio tours, guided tours, whatever, I've never been on an American tour that I didn't enjoy. Alcatraz is no exception. The island is closed off in various sections and various buildings have been bulldozed, but the main cell house is home to the audio tour and is fantastic.

The tour doesn't lead you around the building in a traditional fashion, it's designed to tell you the story of Alcatraz, the important bits, but the narration from the former officers who worked there, make it the most amazing story. One of the points made whilst on the tour is that, it's only a mile and a quarter from Alcatraz to the city - freedom is so near but so far away and if the wind was blowing the right way on New Year's Eve, prisoners could hear laughter coming from the bay - which was another stark reminder.

We got took the boat back to Pier 33 and wandered down to Pier 39. It was heaving with people. Admittedly it was Labor Day weekend so we knew it would be busy but it was nuts. A quick look around the shops and a 'Steak 'n'Shrimp' bowl later, we headed back to the hotel.

On the top floor of our hotel there's a bar called Top of The Mark. We decided to try it. Gladrags on! A small wait later, we were window-side of a lovely 1930s bar!

A couple of cocktails each and $60 later, we left!Read more